


Day Twenty-Six: Sports

by isnonstop



Series: jeffmads month 2k18 [26]
Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Gen, Kids, Sports, Sports Day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-26
Updated: 2018-03-26
Packaged: 2019-04-08 14:55:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,040
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14107797
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/isnonstop/pseuds/isnonstop
Summary: James wasn’t very good at sports. He’d never been. And since his asthma had been getting worse, gym classes and sports days were dreaded events.





	Day Twenty-Six: Sports

**Author's Note:**

> In which I project my childhood issues onto one of my characters...

James sat in the little blue chair under the tent in the middle of the school field. He was dressed in his school’s gym kit, his white socks pulled high up on his legs. The toes of his white sneakers were scuffed with brown and green from where he had been dragging them along the grass and dirt. Around him, the other students were happily chatting away about what events they were doing and who they thought was going to win. But James sat silent, head tucked down and staring at his lap. 

He hated sports day.

James wasn’t very good at sports. He’d never been. And since his asthma had been getting worse, gym classes and sports days were dreaded events. When his mother asked if he wanted her to write a letter to the school to get him excused from sports day, he vehemently refused. His classmates already found him weird enough, already had enough ammunition to bully him with. He didn’t need to add the oddity of not participating in the most anticipated event of the school year. 

Everyone loved sports day.

Someone dropped down into the chair next to him and James looked over. Thomas, James’ best friend in the entire world and the only kid in school who didn’t tease him, was grinning at James with a bag of homemade cookies in hand. He silently held the bag out to James, offering up one of the coveted snacks his mother had made. James gave him a small smile in return, shaking his head slightly. Thomas shrugged and grabbed a cookie for himself, happily eating a bit. James could feel the excitement rolling off Thomas in waves as they sat there in silence. Thomas excelled at sports, especially track. He was the fastest in their class and was even in a track and field club after school. James had been to a few of Thomas’ track meets on the weekends and whenever Thomas won a medal he always let James wear it. Those were the only times James ever held a medal, having never won any of his own.

Thomas loved sports day.

“You’re doing the eight-hundred-meter race right?” Thomas asked after sitting in silence with James for a while, just listening to the people around them as some of the younger years did their races. 

“Yes,” James said softly, watching the grade one students run in their short race. “And the four-hundred.”

“I’m doing all the sprints!” Thomas said, grinning. “Ima said that if I get first in all my races we can go get ice cream afterwards.” 

“That’s nice,” James said, looking down at his bag resting at his feet where his inhaler was tucked inside along with his snacks and water. 

“Do you want to come?” Thomas asked, knocking his shoulder against James’. 

“I can’t have ice cream, remember, Thomas? It makes me sick,” James looked over at him. 

“Right yes I remember,” Thomas shrugged. “But you could have something else. Please, James. It’ll be fun.”

“If my mom says it’s okay,” James said, jumping slightly when the teacher in charge of announcing the races called for their grade’s eight-hundred-meter race. 

“That’s you!” Thomas said, grinning at James. “Good luck, James! You’re gonna do great!” 

“Thanks,” James whispered, standing up and making his way over to where the runners for this race were gathering. He refused to look at anyone, staring resolutely at the ground as the teachers got everyone set up in their lanes. The race hadn’t even started yet and James was already dreading it. He knew he was going to come last. He knew that he was going to take far longer than everyone else did to finish and he began to regret not letting his mom get him out of sports day.

The race started and James could hear Thomas cheering along from the sidelines. James started off slowly, not wanting to get tired too soon. Many of the other students quickly outpaced him but James kept going. He may be slow but he wasn’t going to quit. Not unless he had an asthma attack and wasn’t able to breathe. Their school field was quite small, only one-hundred meters, so they had to do eight laps to complete the race. By lap four James was breathless and tired, wanting nothing more than to stop. His chest was growing tight and he was beginning to worry that he was going to need to stop.

“James!” Thomas said, appearing by James’ side just off the track. James had slowed to a walk at this point, trying desperately to catch his breath. Thomas smiled at him, holding out James’ inhaler. In his other hand, James could see the water bottle that his mother had packed him that morning. James continued to walk around the track, knowing that if he stopped he would never start again. “I thought you might need this.”

“Thanks,” James panted, grabbing his inhaler and taking a few puffs. 

“And some water,” Thomas said, trading the inhaler for the water bottle. James took a few small sips, the cold water feeling wonderful. Once he’d finished he handed the bottle back to Thomas. He fully expected Thomas to leave and head back to where their classmates were seated but Thomas was not one for doing what was expected. He continued to walk by James’ side as they made their way around the track. Having his best friend by his side made James smile, the simple act of kindness on Thomas’ part filling James with warmth and the energy needed to finish the race. 

He came last as expected and received his participation ribbon. But unlike every previous time he received that same ribbon, this one didn’t make him feel as sad or disappointed. The boys returned to their seats and soon Thomas was called away for his own races. By the end of the day Thomas had won all his races, but instead of decorating his own chest with his blue ribbons, every time he was awarded one he promptly pinned it to James’ chest. By the end of the day James was covered in first place ribbons but the ones he was proudest of were his two participation ribbons.

**Author's Note:**

> [Tumblr](https://isnonstop.tumblr.com)


End file.
